Patty in Paris eBook

“No,” said Mrs. Farrington; “this
is his last year in college, so of course he can’t
leave. The other children are in school, too,
so it seemed just the right year for us to take Elise
abroad for a little outing. A winter in Paris
will do both of you girls good in lots of ways, and
if for any reason we don’t enjoy it, we can go
somewhere else, or we can turn around and come home,
and no harm done.” Although the trip seemed
such a great event to Patty, Mrs. Farrington appeared
to look upon it merely as a little outing, and seemed
so thoroughly glad to have Patty go with them that
she almost made Patty feel as if she were conferring
the favour.

Elise and Patty went away by themselves to talk it
all over, while Nan stayed with Mrs. Farrington to
discuss the more practical details.

“I didn’t care a bit about going,”
said Elise, “until we thought about your going
too, and now I’m crazy to go. Oh, Patty,
won’t we have the most gorgeous time!”

“I don’t think so, and yet we may.
Mother’s going to take a house, you know, and
then we’ll either have masters every day, or
go to some school. Mother knows all about Paris.
She has lived there a lot. But we sha’n’t
have to study all the time, I know that much.
We’ll go sight-seeing a good deal, and of course
we’ll go motoring.”

“I shall enjoy the ocean trip,” said Patty;
“I’ve never been across, you know.
You’ve been a number of times, haven’t
you?”

“Yes, but not very lately. We used to go
often when Roger and I were little, but I haven’t
been over for six years, and then we weren’t
in Paris.”

“I’m sure I shall love Paris. Do
you remember it well?”

“No; when I was there last I was too little
to appreciate it, so we’ll explore it together,
you and I. I wish Roger were going with us; it’s
nice to have a boy along to escort us about.”

“Yes, it is,” said Patty frankly; “and
Roger is so kind and good-natured. When do we
sail, Elise?”

“Two weeks from Saturday, I think. Father
is going to see about the tickets to-day. He
waited to see your father yesterday, and make sure
that you could go. The whole thing has been planned
rather suddenly, but that’s the way father always
does things.”

“And it’s so fortunate,” went on
Patty, “that I hadn’t started away to
college or boarding-school. Although if I had,
and you had invited me, I should have managed some
way to get expelled from college, so I could go with
you. How long do you suppose we shall stay, Elise?”

“I don’t know, I’m sure. You
never can tell what the Farringtons are going to do;
they’re here to-day and gone to-morrow.
We’ll stay all winter, of course, and then in
the spring, mother might take a notion to go to London,
or she might decide to come flying home. As for
father, he’ll probably bob back and forth.
He doesn’t think any more of crossing the ocean
than of crossing the street. Have you much to
do to get ready to go?”